Frank’s numbers around the Internet

Shopping on the Internet is popular, more pay services want to earn it. Two competitors are now arguing in court.

FRANKFURT. Now it will judge the judges: Vehement the Internet payment services and Giropay Sofortüberweisung.de argue in court.

Giropay , behind the plug , the cooperative banks, savings banks and the Postbank , accuses its rival of competition distortion. Sofortüberweisung.de should provide security at the expense of dumping prices.

On the lucrative market for online payment services is apparently fought with all means. Because trade is booming on the net . To around 22 billion € appraised the retail association , the annual turnover in Internet commerce. The Institute for Business Research ( IfH ), University of Cologne is expecting growth rates of ten percent per year.

It is also worthwhile to pay services. Credit card companies are currently the market leader and the eBay subsidiary PayPal. Sofortüberweisung.de , behind which lies the Payment Network follows in seventh . Giropay is ranked eighth.

According to a study by the IfH nearly one in three online retailer offers the services of Sofortüberweisung.de with Giropay work around twelve percent of the dealers.

The fighting cocks are not squeamish about each other. " Payment Network provides a competitive advantage because it saves on the security, " criticized Kai Schlüter, Managing Director of the applicants Giropay . " We have high expenses for security, saves the Payment Network and can therefore offer online merchants the payment service cheaper. "

Online merchants need access to the banking network

In order to use online merchant payment services in the network, they must be connected to the banking network and pay for it . According to industry information, the costs for Giropay transactions from 1.5 to 2.5 percent of sales, at Payment Network , it is only one percent.

If a customer buys one with just clicking Giropay, he is redirected to the side of his bank and have to log in there in his online account. In contrast, Sofortüberweisung.de gives the customer access plus a Tan directly in pay service. "But can not access data will be passed to third parties , which violates the terms and conditions of the banks, " complained Schlüter. He feared damage to their reputation by Internet criminals.

" We have not had a single case of fraud , "counters George Schardt , CEO of Payment Network . " This is about a banking monopoly in the payments . " The action of the other side was " to form the clear desire of a cartel . "

The impression should not be dismissed out of hand , even if the issue of security of pay services controversial. But the TÜV has no doubts : "No third party during the Sofortüberweisung access to the data. You will not be saved , "said Insp expert Martin Lang, the payment systems on the Internet gives the TÜV seal .

" It looks as if we tried here to restrict competition on the courts , " Malte Krueger , an expert judge for payment at the Fachhochschule Frankfurt. T -Online since 2002 to offer a similar system as the Payment Network , "because there has never been a complaint of the banks. "